1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the area of network transacting systems in general, including credit and payment aspects of transactions, and pertains in some embodiments more specifically to such systems for matching purchasers with credit vendors, arranging and managing transactions, and provision for payments and settling of debt balances.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well-known that a person seeking to purchase products or services may use cash, a credit card or a debit card to pay the seller, or may arrange with the seller a contract for payment over time. A purchaser in some instances may also arrange for an advance from a credit source, such as a finance company, to pay the vendor the purchase price, and then may repay the finance source according to pre-arranged terms. Also, in many cases, especially those involving large enterprises like department stores and the like, the store itself may issue a credit card, or may have other sorts of credit arrangements to offer, perhaps pre-arranged with certain financial institutions. A good example is a car dealership which may have pre-arrangements with banks and loan companies. The car dealer may guide and facilitate credit arrangement for a potential buyer.
Even with all of these services available, there are still drawbacks and unmet needs. Credit cards typically have fixed interest rates and payment requirements. Also, in arrangement with purchases at greater amounts than most credit cards will provide, with banks and loan companies for example, takes time, and the credit risk for the lender must be determined, which usually happens through well-known credit tracking companies, such as Equifax, for example. Even after a purchaser's credit worthiness is determined, it is still often necessary for a credit application and a contract to be prepared and executed.
Currently sellers of goods and services, either through “brick and mortar” stores or network-based, such as in the Internet, have no way to process consumer transactions in a way that is analogous to business transactions. When a merchant makes a business transaction the merchant typically bills the business for the goods or services rendered, typically with Net 30 terms. If the business entity does not pay by end of the term, i.e. 30 days, then the businesses are usually charged interest.
What is clearly needed are systems whereby merchants may very quickly and with assurance assess credit worthiness of potential buyers, and once that worthiness is established, partner the potential buyers with one or more of a plurality of credit vendors who may compete for the business, all arrangements being done quickly and substantially at the point of purchase.